The Bears terminated Peppers' contract, a move that saves them $9.8 million against the 2014 cap, provided they do not designate him a post-June 1 cut, which was unlikely. He is scheduled to count approximately $8.4 million in dead money against the Bears' salary cap in 2014.

“We appreciate Julius’ contributions to the Bears over the last four years,” general manager Phil Emery said. “He was a leader on our defense starting every game since coming to Chicago. His accomplishments over his NFL career place him among the best defensive ends over the past 20 years. The Chicagoland community has benefited greatly from his quiet generosity. We wish him the best.”

The Bears on Tuesday moved toward their goal of getting younger on defense by agreeing with Houston on a five-year deal that includes $15 million guaranteed, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The 26-year-old defensive end played his first four seasons for the Oakland Raiders.

Mundy, 29, played last season for the New York Giants following four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Peppers, who turned 34 in January, had 7.0 sacks last season, his lowest total in four seasons with the Bears. He showed flashes in 2013 of being the dominant player the Bears came to rely on during his first three seasons with the club, but he was inconsistent.

"It has been a few years since I've been here, really, so you know your time is always ticking," Peppers told the Tribune in November. "You reach a point where your body won't always do what your mind tells it to. Sometimes you get up and come to practice and the body just isn't going to do it that day."

Peppers' 119 career sacks rank 17th on the all-time list, according to profootball-reference.com. He had 38.0 in 64 games with the Bears. He never missed a game over four seasons.